What really annoys me is that so many modern computer engineers seem to forget that computers speak the language of numbers. By their very nature, computers don't know how to talk in words, and yet we have Internet protocols like HTTP and SMTP that are textual in nature and have become increasingly bloated as they've developed. There are some neatly designed binary protocols like DNS and SNMP that are just as flexible as their textual counter-parts, but significantly more efficient.
The net result of this is less CPU time doing lexicographical conversions from textual commands and parameters into the numbers that a computer can use, and more time doing the job. Plus, the packet payloads are smaller, which also increases throughput.
We waste enormous amounts of money and electricity on computer processing and bandwidth just to compute textual protocols. This might not seem significant until you consider the millions of computers that are out there right now burning electricity just to convert the word "GET" into something it can actually use.
This problem is being compounded with messy new standards such as XML. This is possibly the most bloated method of passing data around I've ever encountered, but the format itself is not to blame. While there are good uses for the format, today it is being applied almost always in situations where it is the worst format for the job.
Like textual protocols, XML has become supposedly easier to use, therefore somehow better to use. Ego steps in, and the right tool for the job gets ignored in place of the "fancy new technology" way of doing the job. New ideas are not always the best, and humanity is one again starting to find out that some of the oldest ideas are becoming perfect solutions to new problems. For example, sails are making their comeback on large cargo ships and tankers?
Google seem to understand waste, and looking at the HTML source behind their front page you can see that they've cut a huge amount of corners to cut their page down, and still be parseable by a large number of web browsers. Fortunately Google also understand the environmental aspect of their business, and have plans to help the environment through carbon neutrality. Sceptics are putting this down to their CSR policy, but it's probably more related to their "don't be evil" policy.
There are some really funky plans to make all household devices and appliances accessible within a home network, but almost all of these plans include fairly powerful processors in this equipment, utilising interfaces based on HTTP and XML-RPC or SOAP, running on some Java based firmware, or an embedded OS like Windows CE or Linux/ELKS. Why all the waste?
Let's consider a concept using existing light-weight technology:
- Use wireless technology such as basic Wi-Fi, configured using Zeroconf.
- Query and control devices using the already established SNMP. This protocol includes everything you need to remotely configure, control and monitor devices, and has been proven to be highly reliable and light-weight.
- Devices will need their own definitions on what they support, and how they can be controlled. SNMP provides MIB definitions which can be compiled and used for this purpose.
- These MIB files can be pulled from the device to a controller (remote control in the form of a tablet, or just a normal PC) using a pre-defined file name over TFTP. TFTP is perfect here since it's simple and doesn't require the complexity of windowing, authentication, etc.
- Supporting graphics for the interface such as widgets can also be pulled from TFTP.
Power consumption and bandwidth use would be low, and no new magical standards need to be reinvented, other than an agreement on how to discover the devices. We have the technology right here, and it's so light-weight and powerful that it's in fact already been employed successfully for more than a decade. All we need to do is what I call clock-radio engineering, and glue all these existing technologies together.
The cynic in me says that this won't happen. Instead, we'll see the standby current for consumer electronics increase when these devices become popular, despite plans to abolish "standby mode". We'll also see bandwidth demands on the Internet surge like computer memory demands increase with each new Windows release.
For some reason, I'm reminded of a story I read a long, long time ago about an over-engineered toaster...
